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The new book centers on characters chasing after clean slates, struggling to escape addictions or toxic relationships, only to find hope curdling into conflict. Chris Kraus frequently uses the phrase "clean slate", making it intentionally weary through its repetitions. Examples include "He could make a fresh start" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the narrative. And yet, Kraus herself seems to be making her own fresh start, since this appears a novel form of writing – observational, genuinely novelistic. Yet it proves to be laden with the familiar conflicts and styles as her previous works.

From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work

The writer began as an artist who entered the literary world unintentionally with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, which was composed of epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting personal female narrative from abjection into rebellion. She continued writing, but the next trio of compelling and abrasive novels lacked the impact and rawness that the correspondence format brought to the tone of I Love Dick. This was not aided by was her position as a maverick maker who had become a extensive real estate holder, so there was much discussion on real estate deals. It is logical that she presently aims to explore new kinds of material, directing her gaze to external narratives, at a period in which she states that Trumpian politics renders personal narrative unnecessary.

Three Generations, Collective Unavoidable Background

The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering three generations – all unable to escape their pasts. We encounter the story of characters Emma and Jasper, representations of Kraus's parents, transitioning from the New York borough to a pastoral setting. Then there is the narrative of the author, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, reckoning with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the emergence of Trump, and her addict husband her husband Paul. Finally the account of a killing of one directionless individual by another in a community long abandoned by forward-thinking policies only a brief drive from the protagonist's home in a remote part of Minnesota.

As a reader drawn to refined literature of the sort Kraus tends to eschew, I was captivated by the literary tone of the initial segment.

As a reader who favors honed writing of the style that Kraus herself often disregards, I was won over by the novelistic voice of the first section. It exhibits a novel degree of detail that accommodates minutiae, like the container that the youthful Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, assisted by her adored dad. "I found an ice toy!" she declares; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like hard candy". The author narrates Emma's story with inquiry and familiarity. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not hers, exactly."

Letdown and Fragmentation

I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this different style could last out the book. Kraus says here that she resents the satisfaction those who appreciate polished prose have gotten from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to fragmentation, to the messy artistic approach she echoes from her hero Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her previous novels comes back in the second segment. Catt is trying to renovate three dozen dilapidated units in Albuquerque's worst neighbourhoods while shuttling between Minnesota and LA, failing to help her husband curb his addiction. She experiences powerlessness as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an recovery specialist in a environment propelled by the anger and fear that underpins an electoral success. Multiple pages are devoted about Catt being cancelled on a platform, her listed profession modified from "author" to "real estate holder" on a reference site. The author still appears to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she says that she's investigating the murder so that before exiting the region, "she could potentially understand something about an America that her online critics would be unable to grasp, would overlook entirely".

The Homicide Account

Thus we arrive to the murder itself – and the titular day spent by the victim with the murderer and his associates. The author possesses great source material, and reconstructs step by step what transpired when the victim Brandon came to visit Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day in the company of her associates, loitering fixing his automobile and paying for snacks and drugs, before being shot by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Obsession and Unfinished Business

Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that the author's conflicting impulses towards ethical reporting and reckless transgression wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her personal fixations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who comes alive partly through the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual spiraling out of control in a struggling, neglected community. The author informs us that Catt speaks to Brittney in prison, but she fails to enact these dialogues. The complete segment feels strangely incomplete, to the degree that her narrative ends almost mid-par